In-the-ear hearing aids are well known and are of a size and configuration to fit substantially within the ear of a user. One form of such hearing aids includes an ear mold which has been custom fabricated to precisely fit the ear of a user and which also serves to contain the components of the aid. The custom ear mold thus serves as a housing for the instrument with a cover plate usually employed to seal the unit. A disadvantage of such hearing aids employing a custom molded housing is that assembly of the instrument must be performed after fabrication of the ear mold thereby requiring individualized assembly. In addition, any repair or replacement of hearing aid components requires return of the entire hearing aid to a service center. Hearing aids of this type are shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,345,737, 3,496,306 and 3,598,928.
In another known in-the-ear hearing aid, a custom ear mold is provided with a cavity which receives a housing containing the hearing aid instrument or the instrument housing is attached to a tip insertable in the ear canal of a user. This type of hearing aid is shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,983,336, 3,783,201, 3,209,082, 3,265,819, 3,312,789 and 3,389,232. In this latter type of hearing aid a portion of the instrument can extend outwardly from the ear and may not present a proper cosmetic appearance. In other known hearing aids of this latter type the construction can be cumbersome in terms of ease of assembly and repair.